MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANT 4462
Medical Anthropology is the cross cultural study of medical systems, from
indigenous healing to biomedicine, and environmental and cultural factors
that influence human health and disease. The perspective fosters understanding
of the relationship between human behavior and the status of health. Knowledge
can be applied to improve health care in developing and developed countries.
Students will analyze the impact of cultural practices, examine the etiology
and distribution of a disease from an ecological and cultural perspective,
assess the validity of the research, the interpretation, and the implications
for cultural misunderstandings, and process information through use of
technology.
Medical Anthropology offers students an opportunity to examine biomedical and traditional healing systems from a comparative perspective. By analyzing illness cross-culturally, anthropologists and health care providers can better understand the interrelatedness of technology, ecology, and health in larger populations. Students who are interested in health sciences and anthropology will participate in class discussions, small group work, and critical analysis of various aspects of medical care. Two texts will be used. Medical Anthropology by A. McElroy and P. Townsend provides an overview of medical anthropology using an ecological orientation. Kuru Sorcery by S. Lindenbaum presents an ethnographical analysis of a neurological disorder and its cultural interpretation in New Guinea. Students will be evaluated on class participation, two reports, one paper, and two exams. They will use the library, Internet, Medline and Psychlit resources to conduct problem-oriented research. The research reports will involve critical analysis of studies correlating genetics, alcoholism, and ethnicity. The critiques and classroom presentations will focus on evaluating research methods and interpretations linking alcoholism to specific ethnic groups.
IMPORTANT LINKS
Class Participation
Alcoholism, Genetics, and Ethnicity Articles
selected by students for analysis.
Class Notes:
Chapter 1: The Ecology of Health and Disease
Chapter 2: Interdisciplinary Research in Health Problems
Chapter 3: Genes, Culture, and Adaptation
Chapter 4: Changing Patterns of Birth and Death